Obama Federal Prisoner Commutations Issued to 11 Florida Inmates

This week, President Obama commuted the sentences of 61 federal prisoners
who had been convicted of drug-related crimes. Eleven of those commutations
were issued to inmates in Florida federal prisons.

As the
Miami Herald reports, these latest commutations brings the total number of federal prisoners
to receive relief from the White House up to 248—more than the last
six presidencies have issued combined. In the letter to each of the inmates,
the president described his power to shorten sentences and grant pardons
an embodiment of "the basic belief in our democracy that people deserve
a second chance."

In an official blog post, White House Counsel Neil Eggleston stated that
current administration is "committed to continuing to issue more
grants of clemency as well as to strengthening rehabilitation programs."
Eggleston also added, however, that no act of clemency by a president
can "fix decades of overly punitive sentencing policies."

A Shift in National Perspective

Many are looking to Obama's latest round of commutations as another
sign of a shifting national perspective on how both the federal government
and individual states classify drug offenses and punish those individuals
convicted of them. While the 1990s "War on Drugs" brought stringent,
life-altering criminal penalties to non-violent drug offenders, now government
officials nationwide (from
California, to
Texas, to
Florida) are re-evaluating how to police these offenses and process the accused.

As the
Miami Herald points out, there has been recent bipartisan support for criminal justice
reform in Washington, but resistance in Congress makes it unlikely that
any of those measures will come to fruition this year. Still, officials
from both sides of the aisle and countless advocates from around the country
remain committed to addressing the issue. As President Obama put it at
a recent dinner with former inmates that had received commuted sentences:
"We're all imperfect. We all make mistakes."

The
Law Office of Michael Mirer, P.A. is a premier Southern Florida criminal defense firm. Attorney Mirer is
a former prosecutor who now dedicates his firm to the defense and advocacy
of those accused of serious criminal offenses. In both state and federal
court, he can ensure that your rights are protected and that every viable
avenue towards a dismissal, acquittal, or reduction is aggressively and
capably pursued.

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